Daring Kathy Seeks First Graded Win Mucho Mas Macho Nears Return

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL - Multiple stakes-winning filly Daring Kathy is expected to make her next start in the $100,000 My Charmer Handicap (G3) Saturday at Gulfstream Park West.

The 1 1/8-mile My Charmer would be the longest race to date for the 3-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Wildcat Heir, and her first try against older horses.

“Her last race didn’t go, and I didn’t want to run against the boys. If we have to run against olders, I’d rather run against the fillies,” Fawkes said. “She’s doing great.”

Bred and owned by John Eaton and Steve Laymon, Daring Kathy is 5-for-8 in her career, all this year, with $282,466 in purse earnings. She broke her maiden going six furlongs on the dirt on January 24 at Gulfstream Park and made her turf debut two starts later winning a 7 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance.

Daring Kathy owns four wins and two seconds in six starts on the grass, including victories in the Honey Rider and Starfish Bay stakes at Gulfstream and the Cellars Shiraz at Gulfstream Park West on October 18 in her most recent effort.

She has been third in each of her graded stakes tries, the Lake George (G2) on July 23 at Saratoga Race Course and the Ontario Colleen Stakes (G3) on August 23 at Woodbine.

“A graded win would help her broodmare value a lot,” Fawkes said. “She’s a very nice filly.”

Mucho Mas Macho Nears Return

Off since late February, Grade 2 winner Mucho Mas Macho is nearing a return to the races for trainer Henry Collazo.

The 5-year-old Macho Uno gelding owned by Signal Hill Farms rejoined Collazo’s Gulfstream Park barn in mid-September and shows a steady string of works over the main track.

“He’s doing great,” Collazo said. “I’m trying to get him ready for this winter. He’s come back better than ever. He came back better than when he left. I’m looking for a good campaign for him this winter.”

A winner of five of 28 lifetime starts and more than $250,000 in purses, Mucho Mas Macho spent the summer at Cobra Farm in Lexington, Ky.

“It was just one of those things where he could do with a respite, and more than anything else, it didn’t look like there were any places for him to run,” Collazo said. “It seemed the logical thing to do was give him time off, and it was a blessing. He came back having gained weight and with a really good mental attitude.”

Upset winner of the 2013 Ft. Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream, Mucho Mas Macho made just three starts this year. He was eighth in the January 11 Ft. Lauderdale, sixth in the February 15 Mac Diarmida (G2) and fourth by 2 ½ lengths in a 1 1/8 mile starter allowance 12 days later.

“He came back on my birthday, September 19,” Collazo said. “It was a bittersweet kind of birthday because I had a filly, Gotaheartofgold, she won and got claimed. I won a race, lost the filly, and as I’m driving back through the stable gate, he’s on the van. You talk about a roller coaster ride. I’m super pleased with the way he came back. He’s just fantastic.”

Among the races Collazo is considering for Mucho Mas Macho are the $100,000 Tropical Turf Handicap (G3) on November 22 and a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance on November 30, both at Gulfstream Park West.

“I’m looking at the stake to see what shows up, but there’s plenty of alternatives,” he said. “That’s the one thing about this time of year. We’ve got a lot of options.”